These days, three houseboats in the Dal Lake in Srinagar have transformed into a television series set. The makers hope it will encourage others to shoot serials in the Valley.
Many houseboats are lined up at the Dal Lake in Srinagar. A shikara emerges from amid the ‘traffic’ of houseboats and ferries one towards the ‘location’. The shikarawala refers to the lake as the ‘Golden Lake’. Soon, three distinct and colourful houseboats —Pashmina, King of the Sea, and Royal Orchard— are visible from a distance. It is here that a television serial is being shot.
Situated between the Pashmina and the King of the Sea is an islet, which serves as the location for the creators of the drama serial Pashmina, which draws inspiration from the 1990s hit Gul Gulshan Gulfam.
Farooq Ahmad Katroo, the owner of this unique houseboat set, who is in his early 50s, is a known face. He spent the majority of his post-1990 life in Italy. Katroo is not only fluent in English but is also proficient in Italian. However, he prefers conversing in his native language, Kashmiri.
“When I visit local government offices and if someone speaks to me in Urdu, I respond to him in English. I always prefer to speak in Kashmiri,” Katroo says.
In the 1990s, when insurgency gripped the Valley and foreign visitors stopped visiting Kashmir, Katroo moved to Europe.
“Even during those challenging times, I took pride in having brought foreigners to Kashmir. It is we people of Dal who have been sustaining tourism in Kashmir for long,” he adds.
Katroo says he has hosted documentary filmmakers, including foreigners, in the Valley. But their stays used to be very brief, limited to two or three days. “The makers of Pashmina are, however, spending 60 days staying in my houseboats and are doing most of shooting here,” he says. He feel the drama series is going to be very popular.
His houseboat was originally called ‘Miss England’, but the makers of the series named it Pashmina and Katroo wishes to retain this new name.
“When people across the country will watch Pashmina, they would love to see the very houseboats where it is shot. This, I believe, will greatly benefit Kashmir’s tourism industry. This houseboat will be an attraction for tourists in the future.” Katroo, who is in awe of the British, is happy to give up Miss England for Pashmina.
The director of the series, Vikram Labhe, 45, is from Maharashtra and spent the last winter in Kashmir. Labhe has directed several projects for Sony, and is thrilled to be back in the Valley to shoot the drama series. He says he plans to extend the shooting of the drama series through the winter to capture the frozen beauty of the Dal Lake, the snow-covered landscapes of Gulmarg, and the mystic allure of the mountains.
“The show is set to air on Sony SAB TV. A series is being filmed in Kashmir after a long time, possibly the first time since Gul Gulshan Gulfam was shot. While films are being shot here frequently, no television series crew has landed in Kashmir in decades,” he says.
Labhe says what sets Pashmina apart from the other fiction that is shot in Kashmir is the attempt to focus exclusively on the Kashmiri culture. “The name itself carries a beautiful ring. The protagonist’s name is Pashmina, and her character mirrors the qualities of the Pashmina thread — vulnerable, soft, and innocent. This alignment between the character and the name is why it feels fitting,” he says. “The series is named ‘Pashmina, Dage Muhabbat Ke’ (Pashmina, The Threads of Love),” he says. “It is all about love and beauty.”
“The central theme of the show revolves around houseboats. It follows the story of two women —mother and daughter— who manage a houseboat,” he adds. Labhe says unlike the other serials, where initial episodes are often shot on location and the rest of the shooting takes place on similar-looking sets in Mumbai, Pashmina defies this convention. The show is entirely filmed on real locations. There's no shift to a studio set after the initial shooting, like it happens in all drama serials. The entire show remains true to real locations,” Labhe adds.
His winter visit to Kashmir left him captivated. However, in the summer, the landscape is greener. The ‘very unlike Kashmir’ heat is, however, draining crew.
“Those who have not been to Kashmir, their perception of Kashmir is limited to the snow-covered slopes of Gulmarg, the enigmatic mist of Dal Lake and the greenery,” says Labhe.
It is shaped by Bollywood’s portrayal of the Valley created over the past several decades. “Films from the early 50s and 60s depicted the enchanting Kashmir —snowy slopes of Gulmarg, vibrant gardens— persisting until the 1990s. Post-1990, filmmakers shifted their focus away from Kashmir, and instead of using it as a backdrop, they turned it into Europe. Even the Kashmir-specific films made during this period focused only on the militancy aspect. However, we are now revisiting the era of love and peace, reminiscent of the 1960s.”
While green-lighting the first day of the shoot in Srinagar, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said film tourism will be a major driver of growth and job creation for Jammu and Kashmir.
“We began shooting in the summer, will continue shooting till the winter and probably beyond. The prospect of shooting an entire series in Kashmir is exciting. The show will reshape perceptions that Kashmir is not solely about militancy,” Labhe says. “We want to convey that we are going back to our roots; that we are shooting in our country. That is the most beautiful thing. We don’t have to go to Europe to capture waterfalls and the greenery,” he adds.
“In recent times, numerous South Indian films have been shot here. One of my personal favorites is the 2019 film Sita Ramam, which beautifully captured Kashmir,” he says.
“We will film at the Dal Lake, Gulmarg and also use the Mughal gardens as our backdrop. Our portrayal of Kashmir will be one of happiness, beauty, and vibrant colors. Negativity won't find a place in our drama series.”
At the Pashmina houseboat, Prakash, one of the crew members, is sitting beside a window looking at the Dal waters. “I have been here many times for various shoots, including Sudhir Mishra’s Crime Beat. I have been to Sonmarg, Yusmarg, Srinagar and all the other places but this time, to be in a houseboat, is a different experience,” he adds.
Irshad Bashir and Arif, the two line-producers, who will cut the promo of the series, have a long association with films and production. They feel Pashmina has the potential to bring tourism back in Kashmir as it is a series related to Kashmir, which is also shot in Kashmir.
Having an MA in journalism from Maulana Azad National Urdu University, they started working as coordinators and then graduated to being line producers. ‘Chase of Anuj Saxena’ was their first big film in 2010.
“We worked in three shifts and chose Arahbal, Awantipora, Dal Lake and Royal Spring Gulf Course as locations.” When they went back to Mumbai after shooting was over, they encouraged film producers to shoot in Kashmir. When Rockstar was shot in the Valley, it was a turning point and many film-makers started coming to Kashmir. “We have done a lot of web series, including one with Mahesh Bhatt. We also formed our company and started exploring new places for shooting,” they say.
Incidentally, they have been successful in convincing film-makers to shoot in the Baderwah Tehsil of Jammu where ‘Noorie’ was shot in 1978. “That time, there was hardly any hotels. Today you see a number of hotels have come up in Baderwah,” he adds. “Now the situation has improved to an extent that line producers now shoot in Baderwah as well.”
“Earlier, shooting in Kashmir was difficult for the line producers as they needed artists, crowd, and no one seemed available. Now artists call us and ask whether there is any shooting anywhere and whether their service is required. I see it as a healthy change,” he adds. “Those who were earlier charging Rs 10,000, now charge in lakhs,” he says. This year they worked as line producers in Kashmir for web series ‘Aadha Ishq’, Hansal Mehta’s ‘Scoop’, ‘Kehwa’, a short film, and many other projects.
“Pashmina will bring more serial producers to Kashmir and already we are seeing a number of wedding shoots happening here. There is craze to have a wedding scene shoot in Kashmir,” they say.